Hemlock
by Lady Arachne
Summary: Poisoned on the night before the Chunin Exams, Naruto is put into a coma where he internally fights for his life. How will the Hokage handle holding the Chunin Exams and finding the culprit who did this? And what will happen when Naruto comes out of the coma?
1. Chapter 1: Poisoning and Coma

**Hemlock-** Lady Arachne

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Summary:** Poisoned on the night before the Chunin Exams, Naruto is put into a coma where he internally fights for his life. How will the Hokage handle holding the Chunin Exams and finding the culprit who did this? And what will happen when Naruto comes out of the coma?

**Pairing(s):** none at the moment

**Word Count:** 2,076

_Read, Enjoy, and Review!_

-Chapter 1: Poisoning and Coma-

The sun was high in the sky, shining brightly over the village as the civilians walked on the streets, chatting and doing their daily errands as they talked about the Chunin Exams that were being hosted in Konoha. Many teams from other villages have all come to Konoha to enter the Chunin Exams, where they'll take tests that will decide if they were ready to become a Chunin or not. In the area of the village where the red district began, lay an apartment building. The paint were peeling off the walls, many of the windows were broken or had spider-web cracks on them. It wasn't the best apartment in the village, but it wasn't the worst.

In one of the apartment rooms, in a bedroom, lay a blond hair boy sleeping peacefully under the covers. The boy didn't move an inch in his sleep besides the barely noticeable rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

There was a knock on the door, gently at first, before it gradually grew louder and harsher as the boy didn't wake to answer it.

"NARUTO!" A shrilly girl's voice shouted. It was so loud that the people down below looked up in confusion, yet it still didn't wake the boy. The sound of someone kicking the door sounded throughout the room until the door was finally busted down.

Loud footsteps sounded through the apartment before they finally came toward the bedroom where the door met the same fate as the front door. A pink haired girl stood there breathing heavily, her green eyes filled with rage as she noticed the blond haired boy sleeping in the bed.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! WE COULDN'T ENTER THE EXAMS BECAUSE _YOU_ OVERSLEPT! WAKE UP!" Sakura screeched, grabbing Naruto by the front of his pajamas and shaking him harshly. When he didn't wake, she growled and threw him against the wall. Kakashi and Sasuke entered the bedroom, Sasuke glaring hatefully at Naruto while Kakashi just looked on.

"_I'm going to kill him._" Sasuke growled, trying to take a step forward, but being held back by Kakashi. Sakura saw this and went over to Naruto, kicking him in the stomach. Yet Naruto still slept on.

"WAKE UP!" Sakura shouted into Naruto's face. She growled a second later and grabbed him by his hair, pushing her way past Kakashi and Sasuke as she dragged him into the small living room. She threw him onto the ground and when he still didn't wake, she snapped. With a shout, she leapt upon Naruto and started to beat the crap out of him.

Sasuke sneered at Kakashi, noticing that the man wasn't trying to stop Sakura like he had stopped him, but soon the Uchiha turned back to watching Sakura attack Naruto, taking satisfaction at the sight of Naruto getting punished.

"Lazy! Slob! Useless! Waste of a human being! You over slept and we weren't allowed to enter the first test because of you! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Sakura punched Naruto one last time on the mouth, making blood gush out and causing his head to turn and his mouth to slightly fall open.

"Wait." Kakashi stopped Sakura from continuing and stepped closer to Naruto, kneeling down on one knee to look closer at the blonds' mouth. The corner of a small, folded paper was sticking out from inside Naruto's mouth. Kakashi gently pulled the paper out and carefully opened it.

Sakura snatched it from his hands, "Ugh, probably some prank note telling us how we fell for it!" she growled, clearing her throat and reading the note in a bad impression of Naruto's voice. "Next time, teach your genin how to...detect poison...in their food." her voice slowly going weak as she looked at the note in horror.

Kakashi sharp intake of breath was heard around the room, it was that silent. With a blur, he had already ripped open Naruto's pajama shirt and laid his ear onto Naruto's chest.

_Ba...dum...ba...dum_

"It's weak!" He cursed and lifted Naruto into his arms. He dashed out the ruined door and ran outside where he leapt onto the roof toward the hospital, sensing Sasuke and Sakura following behind him.

The note lay forgotten on the floor, having been dropped when Sakura rushed to go after Kakashi.

**XxXxX**

Sakura paced up and down the hallway, tears in her eyes as she was reminded of what had happened every time she walked past the Hokage. After having Naruto emitted into the hospital, Kakashi had immediately went to inform the Hokage on what happened. The Hokage had to be informed quickly, not only because one of their own genin had been poisoned, but because Kakashi knew how close Naruto and the Hokage were. Whoever had done this to the energetic blond, was going to pay.

Now, the Hokage was standing near the wall, puffing lightly on his pipe as he stared straight ahead at the doors where Naruto was being examined behind. His gaze only left the door to stare coldly at Sakura each time she past. In fact, the Hokage had been letting out small amount of Killer Intent ever since he came here, most of it being directed at the other members of Team 7. Kakashi hadn't kept the fact of what Sakura had done to Naruto or that he hadn't done anything to stop her from the Hokage, knowing that he was going to find out sooner or later. And Kakashi winced internally, remembering the number the pink haired kunoichi did on Naruto.

"Hokage-sama?" A nurse walked out, looking at the other members of Team 7 before returning her gaze back to the Hokage. "You can come in now. Are the others...?" She trailed off, looking uncertainly at Team 7. Sakura sniffled, looking pleadingly at the Hokage to allow them in.

Hiruzen stared at the girl, not letting any emotion show on his face. "Yes, they are his other teammates." The way he said teammates didn't go unnoticed by the others. The nurse nodded and beckoned them in. The Hokage was the first to enter and his eyes widen before hardening at the sight.

Naruto lay in the hospital bed, practically every skin showing having been wrapped in bandages. He was pale and Hiruzen could see the slight tremors running through the boy's body. Sakura gasped and cried out softly at the sight. Sasuke's eyes were wide, looking at Naruto as if the blond shouldn't be there, while Kakashi bowed his head, his sharp nose being able to pick up the sickly scent of poison. He was ashamed to have missed the scent, having been overtaken by the huge amount of disappointment he felt as he had only saw Sasuke and Sakura coming up to the examination room without the third member of their team. He looked down at Naruto, vowing to never allow this to happen again.

"Well, he sure had a number done on him. Massive bruises all over his body, mostly on his face, and bruised ribs. We were able to heal most of them, but we weren't able to heal them all." The Healer said. Sakura winced, shoulders trembling as she looked down at Naruto.

"And why is that?" Hiruzen asked, not taking his eyes off of Naruto.

"_Something_...kept stopping all of our attempts, Hokage-sama." The Healer sent a meaningful glance at the Hokage before turning his gaze back to the unconscious boy. "That something is also keeping the poison at bay, slowly destroying the poison from within. He should have been healed probably in a week with the rate it had been going, but the beating he took disrupted the depleting of the poison. The _thing_ was forced to also heal the wounds, but the slight distraction nearly caused his respiration system to shut down. Luckily, you got here in time, Hatake-san. We were able to heal some of the wounds, but the _thing_ has its chakra in the remaining bruised areas and is slowly healing them, most of its focus is probably on destroying the poison." The Healer finished his report. It had been tough to not reveal the boy's secret in front of his other teammates, but he had managed it.

"What is the poison?" The Hokage asked, looking at the Healer.

The Healer shook his head and shrugged slightly, "We weren't able to tell, the _thing's_ chakra is blocking us from figuring what was in his food. We can only hope that the evidence has been left behind. You did say that the poison was put in his food, correct?" he said to Kakashi, who nodded. "As I've said, we hope that the food have been left on the table, but with the care that was shown to put him in his bed, as you said that's how you found him, I doubt the food is still there."

"I have a team of ANBU investigating Naruto's apartment, I'll tell you at once what they have found." The Hokage said to the Healer, then looked to Kakashi to let him know that he will be informed, also.

The Hokage stood there silently as he went over the report the Healer said. He ignored the questioning looks the two genin were sending him as he walked over to Naruto and laid a hand gently down on the boy's bandaged wrapped forehead. He looked down sadly as he felt the high fever the boy was having. Naruto started panting, squirming in discomfort at the touch.

"Take no offense, he does that to any touch. The _thing_ has deemed everybody an enemy to its host." The Hokage took his hand off Naruto, watching as Naruto stopped moving, though he was still breathing heavily. "If you had left your hand there, the _thing_ would have sent a chakra blast through your hand, causing it to be severely burned. Happened to the other nurse who was in here."

Hiruzen nodded, taking a step back. He hated not being able to do anything to comfort Naruto.

"What are you two talking about? What _thing_?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Kakashi sent Sasuke a warning look. The raven haired boy rolled his eyes and looked at Naruto. He was still pissed that he hadn't been allowed to take the exams, but he was a bit worried about Naruto. The two have had each other backs since the beginning, Sasuke believe that Naruto knew how he felt when it came to not having a family. The thought of Naruto dying made Sasuke clench his fists. He couldn't lose his best friend, and he was ashamed that it took Naruto being on the brink of death to realize the bond they have.

"When will he be awake?" Sakura sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. She had to apologize to Naruto, it was her fault that Naruto's healing was upset, even if he was unconscious and didn't know she was the one to beat him, she had to apologize; the guilt was eating her alive.

"He won't." The Healer said, causing them to stare at him in shock. "The interruption forced him to go into a healing coma, we have no idea when he will be coming out of it."

The room went silent, each taking in the news of what was happening to the blond haired boy. Sakura started crying again, the guilt completely consuming her. She staggered into Kakashi, who held her against him as he stared blankly at Naruto. It was strange, just a week ago the blond was jumping around with joy as he held the Chunin Exams slip, now the blond lay in the hospital, his fate in the hands of the very thing that had almost destroyed the village.

"Hokage-sama." An ANBU shunshin into the room, gaining their attention. Hiruzen stared into the masked face before nodding.

"I must go, keep me up-to-date on his report." The Hokage said before shunshin'ing away, the ANBU close behind. The rest of Team 7 stared at the spot the Hokage was in before their thoughts were interrupted by the Healer.

"I'm sorry, but visiting hours are about to end, you all should leave. Are you his sensei?" The Healer asked Kakashi, who nodded numbly. "Then I'll also keep you up-to-date on the boy's progress." Kakashi nodded thankfully before breathing in deeply and ushered his students out of the room.

Sasuke looked back, staring at Naruto's pale face before the doors were slid shut.

-End Chapter-

**Author's Note:** Hey, all! Here's a plot bunny that hopped into my mind and wouldn't leave. I love how the chapter went, I was a bit worried that nothing would come as the plot bunny is still new, but I love how things went. I'm surprised on how short the chapter was, so sorry about that! I promise, next chapter will be longer, hopefully!

There will be no pairing, as most of the story will have Naruto being unconscious. I know what I want to happen in the story, I just don't know how I should end it. Do you guys want the story to end with them finding the culprit and Naruto waking up? Or would you all rather I have Naruto wake up at the planned time and take the exams in six months? I'm leaning toward the latter, but I'm not sure if I should go with it.

I hoped you all enjoyed, leave a review on what you thought, any type of review are appreciated! I don't know when the next chapter will be, but all I know is that I will not be uploading a new story until this one is finished. Between _Hemlock_, _Color Coding_, and _Pip, Pip, Hooray!_, I will get swamp with trying to run more than three stories. Updates for this story will be kind of slow, so I hope you guys will be patient with me. ***smiles***

Until the next chapter, cya!

-Lady Arachne


	2. Chapter 2: Plant and Snake

**Hemlock-** Lady Arachne

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Summary:** Poisoned on the night before the Chunin Exams, Naruto is put into a coma where he internally fights for his life. How will the Hokage handle holding the Chunin Exams and finding the culprit who did this? And what will happen when Naruto comes out of the coma?

**Pairing(s):** none at the moment

**Word Count:** 3,212

_Read, Enjoy, and Review!_

-Chapter 2: Plant and Snake-

Hiruzen sat in his office, a lit pipe in his hand as he went over the paperwork held in the other. Ever since the Chunin Exams have been planned to be held in Konoha, he has been given a lot more paperwork to do than the normal amount he does everyday. Hiruzen placed the pipe in his mouth so he could sign his signature down below on the paper. He placed the paper on the stack on the right of his desk and sat back, inhaling the smoke and letting it out in a content sigh. He was done for the day and could now focus on the thing he wanted to focus on since two days ago.

One of Konoha's genin, Naruto Uzumaki, was poisoned two days ago on the night before the Chunin Exams in his own apartment. The poison used is still unknown and Naruto was still in the healing coma. The Healer has informed them that the bruises were healing nicely; it was going at a faster space than other people, but still going slow.

Hiruzen gritted his teeth around his pipe. The poison should have been out of his system in a few days if it weren't for his team. He knew that the girl was the cause of his healing coma, but he blamed all of them. Kakashi was their sensei, was Naruto's teacher, he should have stopped the girl from landing a number on him. But instead, he stood there, watching as his female student almost kill Naruto. Hiruzen felt his Killer Intent spike before he was able to calm it, or calm it as much as he could. These past two days weren't easy on him and his mind, his Killer Intent never went away, but he never allowed it to grow stronger. He didn't get the Hokage title just because he was smart and strong-willed. Even in small amounts, his Killer Intent was strong; proof of that showed every time his secretary walked into the room, she wasn't able to hide how nervous she was as much as she wanted to.

Another worry thought came back to him as he sat staring at his desk in thought. After the second test of the Chunin Exams had started, a group of proctors found the three dead bodies of a team of Grass genin, all with their faces missing. Given of what Anko had told him, the only person she knew who could remove faces like that was a man Hiruzen hoped to never see again. The traitor, a man who experimented on people, even children, for his own game, was back in Konoha. What Orochimaru had planned was a mystery to Hiruzen, a mystery he needed to find out soon, and quick. With Naruto's poisoned state and the threat of Orochimaru looming over him, Hiruzen didn't know how to go about these situations.

Hiruzen sighed and stood, walking toward the window and staring out at the village. He smiled, watching as children played in the streets as the adults went on with their day. Today would be the second day of the second Chunin Exams test. The test was being held in the Forest of Death, where the hopeful genins were to survive five days in the forest and get the two scrolls needed for their team to pass. One half of the teams have the Earth scroll, while the other have the Heaven scroll, so there were going to be some deaths that will be happening in this test. Not only did the genins have to worry about getting killed in their sleep by each other, they had to watch out for the deadly creatures and poisonous plants that inhabited the forest.

At the thought of poisonous plants, Hiruzen eyes widen and he immediately called for an ANBU. "Hokage-sama." An ANBU appeared, bowing before standing straight.

"I want the investigation team to go back to Naruto Uzumaki's apartment and search for poisonous plants that could be in the area. Check the stores to see if any of their poisonous plants have been bought recently, and find out where those plants grow in Konoha. Gather the team and go immediately." Hiruzen ordered and he nodded in satisfaction when the ANBU nodded once and disappeared.

Hiruzen turned back to the window, his hopes rising as he saw the brief flashes of his chosen ANBU team heading toward Naruto's house. Hopefully, this time they would come back with good news.

**XxXxX**

Kakashi sat with the other jounins in the tower, three days after Naruto was sent into a healing coma, having been invited to join them when it became known that his team wasn't in the Chunin Exams. Gossip was something that didn't escape shinobi; the gossip mill in the shinobi circles was fierce and could spread quicker than a forest fire when left alone. Now here he sat, listening to them as they guessed why his team wasn't in the exams.

"They were kicked out. I can't imagine that Uzumaki kid being stealthy enough to get the answers without the proctors noticing." Asuma said, sitting next to the open window so the smoke of his cigarette doesn't cloud the room.

"Naruto is a well-known prankster; on the day of his graduation he was able to defile the Hokage faces without anyone noticing him. He's able to even run and hide from a team of ANBU when it comes to it." Kakashi gritted his teeth. Most of the guesses they made were suggesting that Naruto was the fault. Naruto didn't have much of a good reputation, being the dead last in his class, which made it easy for them to think that it was his fault.

"True. It takes some skills in stealth to accomplish that." Asuma nodded.

"Must have been the tenth question or before the test. He could have gotten kicked out because he was trying to look tough in front of the competition." Kurenai suggested, smiling when Asuma hummed an agreement.

"None of those are the reason why they aren't in the forest with the other examinees. The team wasn't able to take the test, so we wouldn't know how Naruto would have reacted to the first test." Kakashi said, smiling sadly at the thought, not that anyone noticed with the mask he always wore.

"Okay, I'm tired of our guesses being shot down, why was your team not allowed in the Chunin Exams." Anko asked, relaxing against the sofa.

Kakashi clenched his fist, his Killer Intent spiking. "Naruto was poisoned the night before the first test, we didn't find out until after the test room doors were sealed."

Kurenai gasped, her eyes widening. "He's dead?!" she asked in horror.

"That poor boy." Asuma shook his head, bowing his head in respect for the boy.

Kakashi shook his head, "He's not dead. The Kyuubi is stopping the poison from spreading throughout his body and is slowly using its chakra to destroy it. Funny, how the very thing that tried to destroy the village is the thing that is keeping my student from dying." He chuckled humorlessly.

"But why? Why is the Kyuubi helping the boy?" Kurenai questioned. She couldn't imagine such a hateful and destructive creature helping the thing that is keeping it trapped.

"This isn't the first time I've witnessed the Kyuubi healing Naruto." Kakashi revealed. "During the Wave mission, our first C-rank mission, one of the Demon Brothers poisoned claws had scratched Naruto's hand. I was all in for going back to the village to get Naruto treated before the poison killed him, when he refused. To flush out the poison, he stabbed the wound with a kunai, letting it bleed out."

"And that didn't kill him." Asuma asked, quirking an eyebrow. Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. "No, as I was bandaging his hand, I noticed that the bleeding had already stopped and the cut was healing on its own."

"Seriously?" Anko asked, leaning forward in interest.

Kakashi nodded. "Right before my eyes the cut was closing with a faint hiss. I've noticed that every wound Naruto gets, they would heal faster than the others did. I believe the Kyuubi knows that if Naruto dies, it will die, so to protect its life it heals Naruto. Something I am extremely thankful for." Kakashi said.

"So the Kyuubi is aware of the condition its host is in. How is the boy? Is the poison close to being eliminated?" Kurenai asked.

Here Kakashi winced and lowered his head in shame. Asuma and Kurenai sent each other looks before looking back at Kakashi while Anko raised an eyebrow. "My student, Sakura Haruno, lost her temper and attacked Naruto. We had believed that he just overslept and when he wouldn't wake, we assumed that this was one of his pranks. I did nothing to stop her and because of me Naruto is in a healing coma." The pain could be clearly heard in his voice.

Kurenai's eyes widen. "He's in a healing coma? How come, I thought the Kyuubi was destroying the poison?" she questioned.

"Sakura gave Naruto massive bruises, two black eyes, a split lip, and bruised ribs. The Kyuubi's concentration was distracted as it tried to heal the wounds; that slight dip in focus almost killed Naruto. The Kyuubi forced Naruto into a healing coma, so that his chakra wouldn't fight back as the Kyuubi healed Naruto's wounds. The Healer assigned to Naruto doesn't know when Naruto will wake from the coma, could be days or years." Kakashi said his shoulders slumping as he bowed his head. Asuma looked at the defeated man and slowly exhale the smoke in his lungs.

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure the kid will pull through. If there is one thing I could guess from the Kyuubi, is that it will go through anything to make sure Naruto survives this, for its own survival." Asuma said, grinning when Kakashi sent him a thankful look.

"I hate to break the mood, but the Hokage wishes to see you, Hatake-san." Izumo said, standing in the now open door, sending them an inquiring glance at the heavy mood in the room.

"Probably got some news about Uzumaki's condition." Asuma said, taking a drag from his cigarette. Kakashi shrugged, though he felt hopeful that it was good news. With a lazy wave, Kakashi shunsin out of the room.

"I hope that boy overcomes this, for Kakashi's sake." Kurenai said softly, with Asuma and Anko nodding in agreement.

**XxXxX**

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi stood at attention, having just shunshin in the room and was waiting for the Sandaime to finish going over the scroll in hands. The Hokage sat there silently, his eyes roving up and down the scroll before he rolled it up with a sigh and placed it on the middle of his desk.

"I've sent the investigation team back to Naruto's apartment. I told them to search the surrounding area and the local flower shops for the thing that could have poisoned Naruto." Hiruzen said, once again feeling his age at what the team had gathered.

"So, it was a poisonous plant that was mixed into Naruto's food?" Kakashi asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before opening them to look at the Hokage. "What is the plant?" he questioned.

Hiruzen gestured toward the scroll on his desk and took out his pipe, needing it to calm his mind and to think on what to do. "It's all written down on the scroll, what the plant is and where they found it." he said.

Kakashi walked over and picked the scroll off the desk. He opened it and read silently as the Hokage smoked on his pipe, watching the Jounin for his reaction. Kakashi's eyes slowly widen as he read over the report, his Killer Intent steadily rising until it was thrumming through the air. The intent didn't affect Hiruzen at all, being the strongest ninja in the village made him immune to low amounts of Killer Intent.

"This...such a simple plant." Kakashi breathed, rereading the report as if he hadn't already memorized every word.

"Yet can cause serious damage and could kill a human before they are able to reach help. If it wasn't for the Kyuubi, Naruto would have died overnight." Hiruzen said gravely, exhaling the smoke and taking the pipe out of his mouth. "The plant used was called Hemlock, a deadly plant that is often confused with harmless plants by those who are not skilled in recognizing the plant. Every part of the plant is poisonous: it's root, the leaves, even the seeds can be fatal if eaten. Part of the plant used to poison Naruto is currently unknown, but we can infer that the plant was definitely used."

"Naruto lives near the red district, weeds and wild flowers grow wild in that area. Hemlock usually grows near fences, roadsides, ditches, abandoned construction sites, pastures, crops, and fields. It wouldn't surprise me to find a couple of them growing naturally near his apartment." Kakashi mused, eyes roving over the scroll at a slower pace than before.

"Yes, that's what has me worried." The Hokage said, leaning back into his chair, yet not managing to relax his tense body. "With the Hemlock growing naturally around Naruto's apartment, it will make finding some type of trail to the culprit near impossible. It would have been easy for them to pluck the plant from the ground and sneak into Naruto's apartment, but how they could have snuck in there is a mystery to me."

"Naruto often forgets to lock his door." Kakashi mentioned.

"Only when he leaves the apartment, otherwise he makes sure to keep the door locked, for obvious reasons." Hiruzen said, bowing his head as he remembered the many times he had failed to protect a young Naruto from angry villagers.

Kakashi picked up on his thoughts and raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Could it be possible that the villagers were behind this?" he asked, knowing that the villagers would stop at nothing to 'avenge' the Yondaime.

"I'm not certain, but I will look into it. Now, I have already sent a copy of the report to the Healer, he is taking samples of Naruto blood to see if there is anything to be done with this information."

"And the Kyuubi hasn't stopped him from taking Naruto's blood?" Kakashi questioned, curious as to what else Kyuubi is doing to protect Naruto.

Hiruzen sighed. "It was tough, the Kyuubi isn't taking any chances and had many times stopped the Healer from taking the samples, but when one of those blocks had almost caused Naruto respiratory failure, the Kyuubi has since than stopped, but he has been sending warning signals through the needle to the Healer. There has never been a day where I was thankful for the Kyuubi for simply existing." Hiruzen smiled bitterly.

Kakashi stood stock still, his eyes narrowed. "When did you get the report from the investigation team?" he said lowly. To have attempted to get blood from the Kyuubi, having the Healer read the report, and the Kyuubi being forced to give in, all that couldn't have been done today, the day had barely started. Hiruzen stiffened slightly, looking at Kakashi from under his hat. Hiruzen slowly sat up and stared Kakashi in the eye,

"A day ago." As expected, the response caused a burst of Killer Intent to swirl around the room before it went deadly still. Kakashi showed now emotions on his face, but his eye blazed in fury. "I had to go over the report and discuss this with the Healer, Kakashi. No matter how guilty you feel, you should know that you can't help with healing Naruto. The only thing you could do to help Naruto is find the one who did this."

Kakashi sighed, reining in his anger. The Hokage was right; all he could do was help in finding the person who had poisoned Naruto.

**XxXxX**

Naruto stared up at the ceiling blankly, his body swaying gently in the waters. He stood sluggishly and looked blearily around the barely lit room lined with pipes of various sizes. Naruto looked around every inch of the room and was soon facing a large cage with bars as large as him. Naruto walked toward the cage, leaning slightly as he tried to see past the bars inside. As he got closer, he saw movement and had just barely jumped out of the way when large claws appeared, the middle two stabbing at where he stood moments before.

"W-what?" Naruto gasped, staring wide eyes at the claws. They slowly retreated back into the cage and two large, wine red eyes stared back at him. Naruto gasped, watching as the form slowly appeared out of the darkness and he realized what he was looking at. "K-Kyuubi?!"

The demon chuckled, his voice deep and raspy. **"So, my holder finally decided to come and visit me? I was wondering when you'll come in here. And look where you've gotten yourself, on the brink death with only me keeping you alive. A shame."** he chuckled again, his fox mouth pulling into a smirk.

"What do you mean "on the brink of death"? I'm not dying...am I?" Naruto ended weakly, running his hand over his chest frantically as he looked down.

Kyuubi chuckled and shifted until he was lying down. **"You don't remember anything that happened two days ago, do you?"** he asked amusedly, watching the boy have a small panic attack.

Naruto froze and slowly looked up, his eyes widening. "N-no, I can't remember anything! What happened two days ago?!" Naruto looked at the nine-tailed demon imploringly. Kyuubi smirked and said,

**"You were poisoned. The poison was in your food three days ago, the night before the Chunin Exams. You've been in a coma ever since, your body giving me control to fight the poison so that **_**you**_** won't die."** Kyuubi informed him, looking down at the blond haired boy. Naruto gulped and shakily exhaled slowly. He had been poisoned, and was in a coma. Something else the Kyuubi said struck him and he jolted and stepped closer to the cage.

"On the night before the Chunin Exams?! Does that mean-"

**"Correct. The poison had caused you to loose consciousness and you never woke up. You and your team didn't get to enter, as all the team members had to register in order for all of you to enter the Exams. Since you weren't there, your two teammates couldn't enter."** Kyuubi said, having been listening to the girl as she shouted bloody murder at his container. While he had been working on destroying the poison, he had kept his attention on the blonds' senses, wanting to hear and smell anything out of place in the apartment. He felt the person who poisoned Naruto move the boy into his room, he remember hearing jeering laughter as the person left Naruto to die, he could remember the sound of Naruto's teammate busting down the door, and he could faintly feel the pains inflicted on Naruto's body as she did a number on him. He wasn't taking any chances on the blond dying, not on his watch.

-End Chapter-

**Author's Note:** Oh yeah, we learned what poison it was (which I'm sure you all guessed based on the title) and we got to meet Kyuubi! And, as I promised, the chapter was longer than the first chapter! Didn't think I was going to achieve that, but it happened and I'm proud of myself! ***grins*** To be honest, I didn't think it would take me this long to write the chapter, but I had wanted to get everything right and didn't want to force myself into writing, cause if I forced myself to write scenes, they'll come out awkward. So, two week long wait, I think you all should get used to that.

Anyway, I want to thank those who have favorite, followed, and I would like to thank _Mejciu_ for being my first reviewer, awesome!

Until the next chapter, cya!

-Lady Arachne


	3. Chapter 3: Plan and Punishment

**Hemlock-** Lady Arachne

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_, or anything related.

**Summary:** Poisoned on the night before the Chunin Exams, Naruto is put into a coma where he internally fights for his life. How will the Hokage handle holding the Chunin Exams and finding the culprit who did this? And what will happen when Naruto comes out of the coma?

**Pairing(s):** none at the moment

**Word Count:** 3,772

_Read, Enjoy, and Review!_

-Chapter 3: Plan and Punishment-

His mind was in turmoil, constantly spinning as he tried to figure out exactly what was happening to him. Naruto sat down slowly, not caring about the waters he now sat in. He brought his head in his hands and sighed. He had been poisoned, on the night before the Chunin Exams. And because of that, his team wasn't allowed into the Chunin Exams as all three members of the team needed to be there. He didn't know which one was more important. The being poisoned was trying to come first, but he felt bad that Sasuke and Sakura couldn't take the Exams. That was their hopes and dreams on the line, it had all depended on whether they passed the Chunin Exams or not and he ruined it. Naruto sniffled, not wanting his tears to be seen by Kyuubi, who was still watching him.

**"What's with the tears? Are you crying?"** Kyuubi said, the amusement clearly heard in his voice.

"So what if I'm crying?! I ruined my teammates' chances of becoming Chunins, they must hate me now!" Naruto cried out, wiping his eyes furiously.

**"I can definitely say they hate you, your female teammate almost killed you because she was so mad at you."** Kyuubi said, thinking that now was a good time as ever to reveal what had happened. And who knows, maybe the twerp would stop trusting people so easily and learn that no one his age in this village will ever like him no matter what he did.

Naruto looked up with wide eyes, "Tried to kill me? Don't make stuff up like that! Sakura-chan would never do that!" Naruto shouted, glaring at the nine-tailed demon who grinned down at him.

**"Oh, but she did, Naruto."** Naruto shivered this being the first time the demon had called him by his name. **"They came over to your apartment, ready to find out why you hadn't showed up, when they found you lying in your bed. As I've said earlier before, I made sure I could sense anything that happened around you while you were unconscious. The person who had poisoned you had arranged you so that you looked like you were sleeping. They thought you had overslept and the girl attacked you. She caused massive bruises and bruised ribs. I had to heal them, so that they wouldn't jeopardize my attempts at destroying the poison. The slight dip in my chakra's concentration almost killed you; a bit of poison had got past my chakra barrier and almost caused your respiratory system to fail before I was able to use my chakra to destroy it. Your sensei didn't do anything to stop her, even your male teammate wanted a go at you, but your sensei stopped him, but not her. And because of them, they almost killed you."**

Naruto stared up at the Kyuubi with wide eyes that had teared up throughout his speech. Naruto huffed and bowed his head, covering his eyes with his hands. He didn't want to believe the demon, he wanted to have faith that his teammates immediately knew something was wrong when he didn't show up; but as much as he wanted to believe that, he knew that what the Kyuubi had said was true. He knew the temper Sakura had, and knew that whenever he didn't respond to her she would resort to violence. He knew that Sasuke would be furious at not being able to take the exams, and would at least try to hurt him. He could see why Kakashi had only stopped Sasuke, but not Sakura. Naruto knew that Sasuke would try to kill him in his anger, but also knew that Sakura would only land punches on him. But the fact that Kakashi had let her do that still hurt him. He had trusted them, trusted them to have his back and to hear that they almost killed him...Naruto didn't know what to think. With the weight of him being in a coma and his team's action, Naruto cried for the first time in who knows how many years.

Kyuubi stared down at the crying boy, taking satisfaction as he watched Naruto come to terms with his team's betrayal. The boy would learn from this mistake, anyone who had hated him as a child would never care about him now. The chunin teacher and the leader of the village had gained Kyuubi's trust, as without them his host would have perished. But anyone else, like his teammates, they would never be trusted. It was time for his kit to realize that.

**XxXxX**

Sakura walked down the road in the market square, watching as people around her went on with their day. It was as if they didn't notice that someone in their village was poisoned. She clenched her fists, glaring at those around her. They should be worried; they should be conversing with each other in hush whispers on what happened to Naruto and who could have done it. Having someone poisoned in the village meant that their safety was being threaten, that they should take precaution on where they went, who they talked to, and what they ate or drink. But everywhere Sakura looked she saw smiling, happy faces.

"Hey, did you hear?" A middle aged woman whispered as Sakura walked by. She looked over curiously, pretending to check out the window display as she listened on the two woman's conversation. "The demon was attacked in his own home! Akira-kun told me that the demon is in a coma with no hopes of waking up!"

"A coma? Don't tell me the _thing_ is being kept in the hospital!" The woman's companion whispered harshly. The first woman sighed and nodded. "No way! Why on earth would they keep such a dangerous thing near innocent and injured people?!"

Sakura had long since frozen at their words. She didn't know about the conditions of all the patients in the hospital, but what was the likelihood of there being someone else that was attacked in their own home _and_ in a coma at the hospital?

_'The only person they could be talking about was Naruto!'_ she thought frantically, listening in closely to the rest of their conversation.

"I don't know what Hokage-sama was thinking, but this is a good sign. The demon might die from whatever happened to it, the village will finally be rid of it!" The first woman said and the two women giggled together, going on about how the village would be better without the 'demon brat' there, but Sakura wasn't listening to any of that. She stood frozen, staring with wide eyes at the window as her mind raced a mile a minute. She couldn't believe what those two women had said! Sure, Naruto can be annoying and he pulls all those stupid pranks, but none of those should make the two women hate Naruto so much!

She stalked away from the two women, scowling as she heard their giggling behind her. But now that she knew what those woman called Naruto, she realized in horror that those around her had been talking about Naruto this whole time. The laughing, smile faces were because Naruto was dying in the hospital. She couldn't believe that the adults around her could be so cruel, especially the baker who's bread her mom loved; the man was so kind to her and her mom, she couldn't believe that he was saying such horrible things about Naruto when just yesterday he was expressing his 'deepest sorrows' for her not being able to enter the Chunin Exams. This is just like how she had once overheard her parents talking bad about Naruto, how much she hated them for talking about Naruto like that when they've never met the blond haired boy. She wonders if they've ever called Naruto a _demon brat_.

Sakura turned a corner and let out a shriek when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her. She gaped at the person before recognizing the ANBU mask and hurriedly bowed.

"Hokage-sama has ordered you to come to his office. Now." The ANBU gripped her by the arm and together they disappeared from view, those around her who had looked at her when she screamed went back to what they were doing as if this was a normal occurrence.

**XxXxX**

Sasuke scowled; irritated that he had been interrupted in his training. He figured that while Naruto was unconscious he could get a head start on training for the Chunin Exams that would be happening again in six months. There was nothing he could do for the dobe, and he refused to sit and do nothing while he waited for the blond to get better. And now here he was being told that the Hokage wanted to see him, when the man wasn't even here! He could be working on his jutsus, but instead he was being forced to stay in this room until the Hokage got back from his meeting.

"Quit scowling Sasuke, or your face might freeze that way." Kakashi teased his face once again in his favorite Icha Icha book. He, too, had been called into the Hokage's office. But instead of being forced to come, like Sasuke had, he had been allowed to arrive whenever he wanted. Usually, Kakashi would have been late on coming, but he realized that the Hokage probably wanted to inform them on how Naruto was doing and knew that being late to that would forever weigh down on his consciousness.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, moving to lean against the wall as he refused to sit in one of the chairs that were situated in front of the desk.

There was a moment of silence, only broken by the turning of pages, when an ANBU appeared in the room with the second member of their team. The ANBU, once he had let go of Sakura, turned to Kakashi and said, "The Hokage will be with you shortly." before disappearing.

"Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said in shock, looking from her sensei to her teammate. "Why does the Hokage want to see us? Is it about Naruto?" she asked, hoping that there was good news.

"We don't know why we were called here, but it's likely that it's about Naruto. Sit down; the Hokage is still in a meeting." Kakashi said, looking down at Sakura before going back to his book. He hoped that there was good news about Naruto or news of who had poisoned Naruto; both were things Kakashi wanted to know.

Sakura nodded and chose to sit down in one of the chairs. She looked around the office curiously, noticing the mountain of paperwork sitting on the Hokage's desk and the past Hokages photos hanging on the wall to the side. Sakura stood up and walked over to the photos, smiling when she recognized each Hokage. She looked at the picture of the Yondaime, only briefly taking in his grinning face when the doors to the office opened and in walked the Hokage.

They watched in trepidation silence as the Hokage walked over to his desk and sat down slowly. He shuffled the paperwork until they were neatly stacked to the sides of the desk before finally looking up at them.

"Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed respectfully. Sakura and Sasuke hurriedly followed, bowing before standing up straight when Kakashi did. They looked at the Hokage, wondering what they were called here for.

"I'm sorry to say that there isn't any news on Naruto, the Healer is still trying to get more diagnoses on how to safely wake Naruto from his coma, but with _it_ blocking all attempts progress on that task is difficult. It's likely that we'd have to wait for Naruto to wake up naturally." Sarutobi said, folding his hands on top of the desk as he gazed them. Sakura sighed in disappointment and sat back down.

"Then if it's not about Naruto, why did you call us here?" Sasuke questioned, ignoring Kakashi's warning looks. He wanted to know why his training was interrupted if they weren't here to talk about Naruto's condition.

"I was getting to that." The Hokage said before continuing. "This isn't about Naruto's condition, but about your punishment."

"WHAT!? Why are we getting punished?!" Sakura shouted, staring with wide eyes at the Hokage. "The ones who should be getting punished are the ones who did this to Naruto!" she continued, clenching her fists.

"They are being punished. I'm looking at three of them right now." The Hokage said, staring at them sternly.

"You think we poisoned Naruto?!" Sasuke growled, taking a step away from the wall. He glared back at the Hokage and clenched his fist.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" Kakashi hissed, finally putting his book away. He sent them sharp looks before turning back to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama?" he questioned, also wondering what the Hokage's reasoning was.

Sarutobi breathed in deeply before exhaling slowly. "You may not have been the ones to poisoned Naruto, but you were the ones to send him into a healing coma that we have no idea when or if he'll come out of." he said, his face once again in its emotionless mask as he stared at Naruto's team.

"But-!" Sakura started before she looked down at her lap. "Yes, sir." she said softly, clenching her fists in her lap. Sasuke glared at the pink haired girl before turning back to the Hokage who stared relentlessly at him. He exhaled harshly through his nostrils before nodding and moving back to lean against the wall.

The Hokage leaned back and looked at them in turns. "For putting Naruto in a healing coma," he looked at Sakura who bowed her head in shame. "For watching on the sidelines possibly waiting your turn," he looked at Sasuke who flushed and turned his head away. "And for not realizing that something was wrong and for not stopping your student from attacking Naruto," Kakashi stared at the ceiling, the regret and shame almost rolling off him in waves. "You are _not_ to enter the exams that will be taking place in six months time." He said in finality, sitting back and waiting for the explosion that was sure to come.

"WHAT?!" Sakura and Sasuke shouted, staring aghast at the Hokage. Kakashi stared with wide eyes before bringing his head down and nodded.

"Understood. Team 7 will not be participating in the next Chunin Exams, or the next ones?" He said before looking up at the Hokage in question.

"It depends." Was all he said as he stared at the horrified eyes of the two genin who were starting to beg.

"Please, Hokage-sama, we need to enter the next exams!" Sakura pleaded, looking worriedly from the imposing figure of the Hokage to Sasuke. She couldn't allow her actions to keep Sasuke from entering the exams. This was his dream, to surpass others and become a Chunin. She couldn't watch her love be a genin all his life.

"Depends on what?" Sasuke hissed, already thinking that he'd do anything to take part in the next Chunin Exams.

The Hokage stared at them. "On whether Naruto wakes up or not. The council have agreed that if he wakes up for the Chunin Exams that will take place next year, you all will be allowed to participate, if not you will have to wait until Naruto has woken up." The Hokage said. It had been tough for the council to agree to that. They had been in favor of cutting Naruto from Team 7 and replacing him with someone who'll fit the team, but Sarutobi had been adamant about allowing Naruto to stay on the team.

Even though it would be for the best, after what they have done, it will be up to Naruto on whether he should leave Team 7.

**XxXxX**

Naruto, after finally getting his emotions under control, stared up at the massive beast and asked, "What are you going to do to me?"

**"I'm not going to harm you; I summoned you here to propose a plan."** Kyuubi said, bringing his snout close to the bars of his cage and watching as sparks flew upon contact with the metal. Naruto saw this and looked at the bars curiously.

"What the...? Why did those sparks appear?" Naruto questioned, coming closer to touch the bars and blinked at the warmth that flew through his hand and throughout his body.

**"You see that piece of paper?"** Naruto looked up and saw the white paper on the cage, located where the two gates met when closed. **"That is the seal that keeps me from taking over your body and which keeps me from leaving this mindscape. Ripping it off would make the seal keeping me inside you weak, freeing me."** Kyuubi said, figuring that being honest with the kit would make the boy more subjected to trust him.

Naruto stared at the seal before looking at the Kyuubi with narrowed eyes. "You said you were going to tell me a plan? What is it?" he said suspiciously.

**"And look at that, the kit actually do have some brains inside that big head of his."** Kyuubi barked in laughter, the sulking pout the boy had only fueling his amusement.

"I can be smart if I want to, I just don't choose to!" Naruto shouted indignantly, turning his back on Kyuubi and raising his nose in the air as he crossed his arms across his chest.

**"And that is what I want to talk about. You hide the fact that you could easily learn almost any jutsu with a short amount of vigorous training."** Kyuubi said, causing Naruto to blink and turned to stare at the demon. Kyuubi looked into Naruto's eyes and saw the contempt there. Kyuubi knew he was treading on waters the boy wished to leave alone, but he wasn't going to have such a weak brat as a container. **"With the poisoning, the villagers will feel empowered to cause their own damage if you survive this. They will come at you worse than before, you being a ninja of the village mean that you won't be able to fight back. You will need to be able to get away as quickly as possible or at least have enough control over you techniques to fight against them without causing too much damage."**

Naruto listened to Kyuubi's words and understood what the demon was trying to say. If he had any hope of surviving the inevitable, he would have to get stronger. But he didn't like where the demon was going with this.

**"Furthermore, I have estimated that you will be waking up in three or four months time with the progress I have been going on. The annoying probing of that Healer is nothing but a nuisance, like a fly bothering you while you eat. I'll just keep swatting his attempts away while I attempt to destroy this cursed poison while I train you. If things go as planned, you should be able to wake up and be ready for the next chunin exams."** Kyuubi said, watching as Naruto contemplated his plan.

"Everything I learn in here I'll be able to do outside?" Naruto grinned, excited about the prospect of being able to sleep and learn jutsus in his mindscape and then waking up with the ability to do them on the first try. He could practically imagine the jealous look on Sasuke's face!

**"No."** Naruto deflated at the response, the image of a jealous Sasuke changing into Sasuke laughing as Naruto tried the jutsu and completely failed. **"Everything physical you learn in your mindscape cannot be transferred over to the outside world. Mental training, although, can be. Controlling your chakra is a mental work, so when you leave this place you'd be able to control your chakra better than you could have before. Also, it takes memorization to master the hand signs and moves for an attack, so if you practice after waking up you'd be able to get up to the level you were at when in the mindscape."**

"And when I come back in my mind I'll be able to learn more stuff and be able to practice them outside in the physical world?!" Naruto said excitedly, jealous Sasuke immediately popping back into his mind.

**"Yes. But you'll need to train hard to achieve all of that. I have lived for thousands of years; I had learned a thing or two in the arts of shinobi and would be perfectly able to teach you everything I know. Just know, I will not coddle you; you will not be treated as my kit, I will be ruthless in working you to become stronger. Meaning, this will not be easy. Do you understand?"** Kyuubi warned, staring intently at Naruto who stared determinedly back at him.

"You betcha, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned, clenching his fists. Thoughts about what his team had done flittered through his mind before he shoved them back. He'll think about them later, right now he had to get stronger and when he woke up the whole village and the world will be in for a surprise!

**XxXxX**

After the Hokage had let Sasuke and Sakura vent their frustration out, allowing them to plea and beg. He sat there and waited patiently for them to be finished. Sakura sat back in her chair and wiped the tears from her eyes. Sasuke stood locked in Kakashi's arms as in a moment of anger the Uchiha had tried charging the Hokage, but was stopped by his sensei. Kakashi looked at his students and sighed inaudibly at the state they were in.

"Hokage-sama, I believe we should take our leave. My students are no longer in any state to continue this conversation." Kakashi said respectfully, bowing his head.

"That is alright, they will need time to come to terms with my decision. Take the time you all need and come back to my office, we'll continue discussing your punishment from there." Sarutobi said, watching as Kakashi nodded and dragged his students the room.

Sarutobi sighed and took his hat off before placing it on the desk. He looked at the picture of Minato and stared sadly as he remembered the proud face of his predecessor as the man told him of his wife's pregnancy.

"I am so sorry, Minato. For not protecting Naruto, for allowing this to happen." Sarutobi said softly. He tore his eyes away from the picture and turned his attention back to his paperwork, attacking it as he let today's events wash over him as he thought about Naruto and the threat of Orochimaru.

-End Chapter-

**Author's Note:** Wow, almost a month before this chapter was finished...really sorry for the long wait! It's been a while since I saw Naruto and the scenes weren't coming to me quickly enough, so I've decided that I'm going to read the manga, something that I've never done before, and I hope that the scenes for each chapter will come more quickly as I catch up on the manga. And...wow...there are a lot of chapters I've got to read, and from the little seconds I've scene from my older sister watching the new episodes so much had changed in the series!

I don't know if I'll continue writing this story until the war happens. I'm thinking about getting this done and when the time skip for Shippuden comes I'll end the story there and make a sequel for when Naruto is older. I've got a basic idea on what I want to happen in the sequel, but I'm going to have to wait until I'm in that part of the manga to continue planning it out. Obviously, the sequel is where romance will be involved, right now it's about Naruto getting stronger and working to make a name for himself; that's why I took the _(pairing undecided)_ from the summary so potential readers won't worry about the main focus of the story being about pairing Naruto up with someone. There will be hints for who Naruto will be with in this story, but that won't be the complete focus of the story.

And about the pairing, it will be a yaoi one. I'm a huge yaoi/slash fan, so all of my stories will feature a boyxboy/malexmale pairing in them, or they will have no pairings at all. There are some het pairings I could stand, but I've never tried writing them out and I want to get my current two stories done before I even think about trying a het story. Once I run out of plot ideas, which is unlikely 'cause I have so many plot bunnies stored in my phone and there are more still being thought of, I'll think about trying a hand at a het story.

The chapter for _Pip, Pip, Hooray!_ is taking a while, my muse for South Park had died down so _Pip, Pip, Hooray!_ will be one of those stories where I'll write what comes to mind, but there will be a long wait between each chapters. Sorry to those who were looking forward to the new one-shot!

This author's note is getting too long, so I'll end it with that all of my stories are over on AO3. So, if any of you prefer to read over there you can find me under: _LadyArachne_

Until the next chapter, cya!

-Lady Arachne


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